Friday, April 15, 2011

Saison Imperiale - Belgian Farmhouse Ale

Hello Everyone, Tonight I have a light summer Belgian beer, from "Saison Imperiale". This beer is not a trappist beer, but it is a Belgian Ale. I couldn't find a home page for the brew house, but I found many reviews regarding this light summer ale. This beer was about $9 at my local Whole Foods and was purchased on a whim when I was there to buy groceries yesterday. This summer ale has a very nice dark amber color to it and was poured with a nice frothy white head... that lasted about 5 minutes after the pour. This beer is higher on the alcohol scale than most summer ales, coming in at 8.5% ABV. There are very subtle hints of citrus in the smell, with a slight hint of the standard Belgian alcohol smell. The first sip was light, but not very flavorful, I sensed a slight after taste of spice in this beer. I am giving it 3/5 stars on the Belgian Beer scale, it is light enough for summer, but not flavorful enough to start the day off for my tastes. I would definitely crack this guy open as a second Belgian beer on a nice summer day on the patio.